Refrigerator



March l1, 1941-.. H. WALLACE REFRIGERAIOR Filed April a, 1937 v ,2M-l- 2Sheets-Sheet l V/4 (3f l Il ATTORNEY.

H.y WALLACE REFRIGERATQR 'flare lll, 1941 Filed April 8, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet 2 patented Mar. 11, 1941 PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR HughWallace, Evansville, Ind., assigner to Servei,

Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Dela- Ware Application April 8,1937, Serial N0. 135,628

l Claims.

My invention relates to refrigerators, and more particularly torefrigerator cabinet structure.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improvement inrefrigerator cabinets for effectively preventing the infiltration ofairinto a thermally insulated storage compartment The above and otherobjects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understoodfrom the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this specification, and of which Fig. 1 is aside vertical section of a refrigerator cabinet embodying the invention;Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional. view taken at line 2--2 of Fig. 1 toillustrate more clearly the interior of the front of the cabinet; Figs.3 and 4 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views taken at lines 3-3 and4-4 of Figs. 2 and 1, respectively, to illustrate more clearly themanner in which the bottom horizontal plate of the upper insulatedstorage space is secured to the front and lateral side walls of thecabinet; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View of a partof Fig. 1 to illustrate more clearly the manner in which ther bottomplate is secured to the rear ,enclosure member of the cabinet. g

Referring to Fig. 1, I have shown the invention embodied in arefrigerator comprising a cabinet I@ provided with a base II and havingan inner metal shell or liner I2 arranged within an outer metal shell I4and insulatedn therefrom with any suitable insulating material I5. Theinner shell l2 defines a thermally insulated storage space I6 having anopening, and at the opening a door I1 is hinged to the front of thecabinet. Below the storage space IB is a compartment I8 which extends tothe .rear of the cabinet and communicates with an upward extendingcompartment I9 which is substantially the same height as the cabinetil). The lateral side walls of the outer shell I4 extend or projectbeyond a metal plate or rear panel of the rear insulated'wall of thestorage space i6 to provide the compartment I9, and at the opening ofvthe lower compartment I8 a door 2l is hinged to the front of thecabinet.

A cooling element or evaporator 22 of a refrigerating system is disposedin the storage space it to maintain the latter at a desired lowtemperature. The refrigerating system, which may be either of anabsorption or compression type, may be housed in the lower and verticalcompartments it and I9. In order to arrange the cooling element 22within the storage space I6, the rear wall of the storage space may beprovided with an opening having a removable wall part or cover 23through which extend conduits 24 and 25 connecting the cooling element22 with other parts of the refrigerating system. The heat rejectingparts of the system are preferably housed in the vertical compartment I9which forms a iiue through which an upward flow of air is induced bynatural draft. The parts of the refrigerating system associated,- withthe cooling element 22 have not been shown in the drawings, since their`illustration is not necessary for an understanding of the presentinvention,

The vertically extending compartment I9 may be partly or fully enclosedby a rear plate 26. A perforated enclosure member 21 is fixed to theupper part of compartment I9 to permit upward flow of air in the latter.The rear panel 2D serves as a closure member and extends between thelateral side-walls of the outer shell I4. The upper part of panel 20 andrear wall of liner I2 are provided with anged openings to receive thegrooved edges of a trim 28 dening the opening for the removable cover23. The lower part of panel 2U is provided with an enlarged opening 29whereby the compartments I8 and I9 are in open communication. A bottomplate 30 for the upper storage space I6 is supported and secured inposition at the lateral side Walls,.front and rear panel of the cabinet,as will be described hereinafter. The bottom plate 30 and rear panel 20-form a container within the shell I4 into which the insulating materialI5 and inner liner I2 are insertable through the front of the cabinet.

The edges of the outer shell I4 and inner shell I2 about the upper dooropening are secured to a wooden frame 3|. About the upper door openingare secured finishing or trim strips 32 which are preferably formed ofan insulating material, such as the material -commercally known asBakelite. The door I'I is provided with a ledge to which is fixed agasket 33 which bears against the outer shell I4 and a cross member 34when the door is in its closed position.

The outer shell I4 is preferably formed from la single sheet of metal toprovide the top 35, lateral side walls 3E, and marginal front portions31 and 38. The outer shell I4 is preferably formed to provide roundedcorners about the entire front and at the top thereof, as indicated at39 and 4I) in Figs. 1 and 2. The outer shell I4 and the manner in whichit is formed are fully described and Claimed in application serial No.135,629 of and rear enclosure member are constructed and arranged toprovide horizontal grooves to receive the flange of the bottom plate andsupport the latter in a stable position. In the preferred embodimentshown in the drawings, horizontal grooves 4I are formed at the lateralside walls 36 by angle members 42 which are secured thereto, as bywelding, for example. The angle members 42 extend from the rearenclosure member 20 toward the front of the cabinet and are curved atthe front rounded corners, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2.

'I'he forward ends of the angle members are adjacent to the ends ofcross member 34 which extends between and is secured to the frontmarginal portions of the outer shell I4. The lower edge 43 of crossmember 34 is bent back upon itself to provide a horizontal groove 44which is at the same height as the grooves 4|. The upper edge 45 of theopening 29 is bent back upon itselfv to form a horizontal groove 46which is substantially at the same height as grooves 4| and 44.

The bottom plate 30 about the periphery thereof is providedwith downwardextending flanges 41 and 48 which fit into the grooves 4I, 44 and 46,thereby supporting plate 30 in a stable position within the shell i4.The front and side flanges 41 extend downward from a depressedperipheral edge portion 50, as shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. Therear flange 48 is formed by an upward extending portion 5I which is bentback upon itself, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. The grooves 4|, 44and 46 are lled with a suitable sealing compound, such as the form ofhydrolene commercially known as Korite, for example, to effectively sealthe periphery of plate 30 to the cross member 34 at the front of thecabinet, to the lateral side walls 36 and to the rear enclosure member20." The grooves 4| and 44 are preferably illled to the level indicatedin Figs. 3 and 4, so that the depressed peripheral edge portion 56 isalso covered with the sealing compound.

By providing the depressed portion 50 and filling the depression withthe compound, the portions of the periphery of plate 30 where theflanges do not t into the grooves, as between the upturned edge 43 ofcross member 34 and the ends of angle members 42, for example, are alsoeffectively sealed. In other words, in the regions between the ends ofthe grooves 4|, 44 and 46, the periphery of plate 30 is also sealed tothe outer Walls of the cabinet to provide a substantially air-tightseal. The periphery of the rear enclosure member 20 and the top 35 andlateral side walls 36 of the outer shell I4 are also sealed with asuitable insulated compound, so that the outer members of the thermallyinsulated walls of storage compartment I6 are effectively sealed againstinfiltration of air.

By providing the bottom plate 30 with flanges and supporting the platewithin the shell I4 in the manner just described, an unusually strongbottom support for the upper storage space I6 is provided. Theparticular arrangement set forth is such that the assembly of thecabinet is facilitated considerably. When the outer shell I4 is formedfrom a single sheet of metal, for example, the angle members 42 may besecured to the sheet before it is bent to form the top and lateral sidewalls of the cabinet. The bent edges 43 and 45 on the cross member 34and rear enclosure member 20, respectively, may be formed when thesemembers are blanked. After the cross member 34 and rear enclosure member2l) are secured in place, it is only necessary to place the bottom plate30 in the grooves and pour the sealing compound about the peripheraledge thereof.

Although a single embodiment of the improved refrigerator cabinetstructure has been shown and described, I do not wish to belimited tothe particular arrangement set forth, and I intend in the followingclaims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A refrigerator including a shell having a top, lateral side walls, afront, and a rear closure member straddling the lateral side walls andthe top, a bottom plate having a depressed peripheral edge portion and aflange extending downward from the edge of the depressed p0rtion, meansproviding a substantially horizontal groove about the interior of theshell to receive the flange of the bottom plate and support the latterin position, the relative proportion of the flange and the grooveproviding means being such that the groove is wider than the space takenup by the ange to facilitate the insertion of the flange into the grooveand also to provide a pocket facing the outer surface of the flangewhich is open above the bottom plate, the open pocket facing the outersurface of the flange facilitating the introduction of a sealingcompound into the groove and the depressed peripheral edge portion fromabove the bottom plate.

2. A refrigerator including a cabinet having thermally insulated wallsdefining a. storage compartment, the bottom insulated wall of saidcompartment including a substantially horizontal plate having a flangeat the periphery thereof, the horizontal plate having a depressedperipheral edge portion from the outer edge of which the flange depends,the cabinet being constructed to provide a substantially horizontalgroove having breaks or gaps along its length and arranged to receivethe flange, the relative proportion of.

the flange and the groove being such that the groove is wider than thespace taken up by the flange to facilitate the insertion of the flangeinto the groove and also to provide a pocket facing the outer surface ofthe flange which is open above the bottom plate, and a sealing compoundin the groove and in the depressed peripheral edge portion adjacent thebreaks or gaps in the groove.

3. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet having thermally insulated -wallsdefining a storage compartment, the rear insulated wall including avertical closure member having a lower edge terminating at the region ofthe bottom insulated Wall, the bottom insulated wall including ahorizontal plate having a flange abo-ut the periphery thereof, theflange at the rear of the bottom plate beinfg substantially inverted U-Shape and extending above the top surface of the horizontal plate, theedge of the vertical closure member at the region of the bottominsulated wall being bent back upon itself to form a groove adapted toreceive the inverted U-shaped flange and provide an open pocket facingthe outer surface of the flange, the open pocket facilitating theintroduction of a sealing compound into the -groove from above thebottom plate.

4. A refrigerator including a shell having a top. lateral side walls, afront, and a rear closure member straddling the lateral side walls andthe top, a bottom plate having a flange at the periphery thereof, meansproviding grooves at the front,

(ifi

lateral side walls and rear closure member to receive the ange andsupport the bottom plate in position, the grooves at the front, lateralside walls and rear closure member having breaks or gaps between theends thereof, at least the parts of the bottom plate adjacent the breaksor gaps having depressed peripheral edge portions from which the flangeextends downwardly, the relative proportion of the flange and thegrooves providing pockets facing the outer surface of the flange whichare open from above the bottom plate, and a sealing compound in thegrooves and the depressed peripheral edge portions.

5. A refrigerator including a cabinet having thermally insulated wallsdening a storage compartment, the bottom insulated Wall of thecompartment including a substantially horizontal plate having a flangeat the periphery thereof, the horizontal plate having a. depressedperipheral edge portion forming a pocket and from which the ange extendsdownwardly, the cabinet being constructed and arranged to provide abroken horizontal groove to receive the flange andV support the bottomplate in position, the pocket being adjacent the break in the groove,and the groove and the pocket being adapted to "eceive a sealingcompound.

6. A refrigerator including a shell having a top, lateral side walls, afront, and a rear closure mem.. oer straddling the side walls and thetop, a substantially horizontal bottom plate having a downturnedperipheral flange, means flxedly secured to the front, side walls andclosure member providing an upwardly open groove about the interior ofthe shell to receive the flange of the bottom plate and support the samein stable p0- sition, said bottom plate having supporting engagementwith the inner edge of said groove and said flange projecting into saidgroove and terminating short o1 the bottom thereof, the relativedimensions of the flange and groove being such that a peripheral spaceis provided between the outer edge of the groove and ange to facilitatethe introduction of sealing compound into the groove.

7. A refrigerator as set forth in claim 6 in which the means providing ahorizontal groove includes members secured to the lateral side walls andalso bent portions formed integrally with the front and the rear closuremember.

8. A refrigerator as set forth in claim 6 in which the rear closuremember is provided with an opening, and the means providing thehorizontal groove includes a bent portion at the upper edge of `theopening.

9. A refrigerator as set forth in claim 6 in which the portion of theflange at the rear of the bottom plate is substantially inverted U-shaped.

l0. A refrigerator including a shell having substaritially horizontaltop and bottom members, lateral side walls, a front and a rear closuremember straddling the side walls and said top member, one of saidhorizontal members including a` substantially horizontal plate having adown turned peripheral flange, means xedly secured to the front, sidewalls and closure member providing an upwardly open groove about theinterior of the shell to receive the flange of said plate and supportthe same in stable position, said plate having supporting engagementwith the inner edge of said groove and said flange projecting into saidgroove and terminating short of the bottom of said groove, the relativedimensions of the flange and the groove being such that a peripheralspace is provided between the outer edge of the groove and the ange tofacilitate the introduction of sealing compound into the groove.

HUGH WALLACE.

